Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Which one is not like the other?

I have been waiting to "unyellow" my nails.  I'm going to continue to be secretive about why, but I want to show you why I prefer to buff versus other options, such as lemon juice, backing soda, peroxide, etc. 

First let us take a look at the horror that is my yellow nail bed ... you might want to get a waste basket just in case you start to regurgitate at the sight.

There are uglier pictures here.


Ewwww ... there are no words.













DUDE ... I love my buffer.  The transformation is just wowza!

I personally love my square buffer that I showed here and here.

As I have discussed in previous posts, buffing should be done in moderation.  If your nails are thin you may want to just skip it altogether or be very light handed and use a very high grit strength buffer. 








My favorite buffer has a grit strength of 400 - 600.  There are even higher grit strengths out there and should be used for thinner/weaker nails.













The results are amazing.  

Look at that ring finger!










I can never achieve results like this with lemon juice, peroxide, etc.

My hubby said, "Oh look, now your nails don't look like you've been smoking for 20 years"

... jerk ... then I scratched him across the face with my newly stain-free nails. 

Bonus picture: OPI - Bubble Bath (2 coats)

31 comments:

  1. wow looks great! i would definitely need a higher grit since my nails are crazy thin!

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  2. Ooh, shiny!
    I should try this...my nails are orange and my whole family treats me bad when I try to wear them naked. :(

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  3. WOW! My nails are super thin and weak and difficult so I fear the buffer. I look like the crypt woman, mine are REALLY bad. I tried toothpaste, peroxide & baking soda and finally just lightly buffed but I don't have the high grit. My bf tells me WHY?!?! are they THAT color?! you look SICK! stupid boys.

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  4. I'm glad you scratched him >:D JK of course. I love buffing in moderation! Your nails look fab! xo

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  5. wow this is great! mine are stained yellow too and i can't bear the thought of wearing clear polish or naked nails at all. i'm going to try this! and thanks for the tip of getting the higher grit buffer, my nails are thin.

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  6. Like you murdered someone, took their brandnew nails and put them on. Or just really really buffed them!

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  7. I need to go get a new buffer...I have one of those 4 way buffers, but mine doesn't have a high enough grit, clearly, because I can't get rid of staining that way! I used to use hydrogen peroxide & baking soda but that only seemed to remove polish stains, not yellowed nails :(

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  8. I bet he loved it when you scratched him! :) J/K, of course.

    My nails are still too peeltastic for a good buffing, but yours look amazing.

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  9. My nails suffer from yellowness, too :-( but I'm somehow afraid to buff, as I've been fighting peeling for a long time (with hyper moisturizing)...Anyway they would benefit a light "smoothing" also because of ridges. I think I'll try finding a very soft buffer (but I can't recall seeing grit number on files here - damn we are so backward on nail related things...)

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  10. Ahahahaha your hubby had it comin' LOL First off, you're a little hard on yourself aren't ya? I've seen worse yellow nails :S But I do have to say that I'm very intrigued by how well the buffer worked, that's crazy! I have one that I picked up after reading one of your ever insightful posts, but it doesn't work as well as that! Yow. Guess it's back to the store for me...

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  11. My nails look like that often! But I got my nail tech to buff them out the other day-they look gorgeous! I have a buffer at home, I should start doing it on my own.

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  12. Yellow nails are my biggest pet peeve. I actually stopped wearing reds and dark colors until I figure something out with the staining.
    I also use a 4-way buffer but I guess it has a too high grit to remove yellowness, all it does is smooth ridges.

    Question for loodie: how often can someone with medium/normal nail thickness use the buffer you used?

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  13. OMG neeeeeeeeeed! My friend's always joking that I'm wearing yellow french mani when I've naked nails. xD I need this, asap. :D

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  14. i always love how your so funny while writing yours posts. hahahaha.. that husband of yous! . LOL
    i need to get me a buffer like this soon.!

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  15. Pretty! I want nice, white nails like that, but I don't dare to buff my nails. I'm sure they'll freak out an flake on me again. :P

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  16. Wowza! That makes an insane difference! I have to get one of those buffer blocks and give it a shot, even though I've never had an issue with yellowing of my nails - I still want to see the effect for myself! For what it's worth, your nails still look gorgeous....as to the hubs, I sure hope he's up to date with his tetanus shots....lol!!!

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  17. omg girl... your nails didn't even look *that* yellow until you de-yellowed. This is almost as dramatic as an infomercial before and after lol

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  18. Oh I love buffing, it always makes my nails look so much more attractive!

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  19. I just finished reading your whole blog, I didn't want to miss anything so I went back through your posts and read all of them. You are amazing!! I love your blog and the way you write, thank you for sharing all this information! :)

    I need to get one of those buffers to try this, my nails have some yellow staining that's been bothering me. Your nails look so shiny!

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  20. Think your husband should be grounded for that remark!! My nails are as bad as yours were before-but my are so weak-I am going to get the higher grit buffer and not look like a smoker anymore!

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  21. I don't mind yellow nails, they are painted 99% of the time anyways. I do buff them a little but rarely because they are pretty thin

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  22. LOL...Men! Mine is smart enough not to say what my teenaged daughter did, LOL! May have to contemplate the buffing....I have been waiting for my lovely green/yellow stains to grow out. Using the gel as a base really helped the staining issue!

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  23. I WANT OPI Bubble bath now. I was looking for a dupe somewhere but now I am thinking screw it I want the original!

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  24. Update: Just did the buff deal on my toes as they were mad yellow, and it worked like a charm. Thanks for the info girl!

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  25. @Beanie - Yea or just skip it altogether. Better be safe than sorry.

    @ChaosButterfly - Ooompa looompa nails! That can be it's own trend though!

    @turtlechick12 - Our jerk boys should hang out ... so they can be jerky to each other rather than us.

    @Maribeth (Obsessive Cosmetic Hoarders Unite!) - mwahaha, if karma doesn't get him, I will. :P

    @jess//hello, polish! - Yay! Be gentle if you go for it.

    @Deborah - Seriously the best comment ever. You win. Anytime I need a pick me I will refer back to this post and your comment.

    @Elizabeth Life and Polish - Don't worry I never had luck with peroxide either. You may need a lower grit strength (more rough) if your buffer is not removing anything. Or maybe your stains are really deep in the nail layers. Be careful to remove too many layers because you can make them really thin this way and still not get rid of the staining.

    @Sinead - LOL, how kinky :P. Aww, just wait, you don't want to make them weaker as they are recovering.

    @maisenzasmalto - If you have been religiously moisturizing for 4-5 months and your nails are still peeling, you may want to try a hardener. It's tough not knowing the grit strength. Like you said find something soft and then just take it easy.

    @beauty-obsessed.com - Aww, thanks! Don't let the lightening fool you, they were mega gross. Sally's has great buffers with the grit strengths written on the containers they are found in if not on the buffer!

    @Eat.Sleep.Polish. - Nice! I mean if it's free then hey pamper yourself, but by all means you can do it yourself!

    @Anonymous - Keep in mind that low grit is more rough and high grit is more smooth. If your buffer wasn't working as well you could buff a bit longer, but don't use anything lower than ~220. It's possible that some stains are very deep in the nail layers so you may have to wait for them to grow out. I would say every 3-4 weeks is okay, but just keep an eye on it because if the stains are deep it's easy to over buff. Always use base coat and do extra coats of base coat when wearing dark colors.

    @The Great Mbah Dukun - yay!

    @Ivana - lol, that is hilarious. *I'm committing that one to memory*

    @Maria - :D! I like to give him a hard time :P

    @Solveig - Better be safe than sorry. Sometimes it's just not worth it.

    @ommorphiabeautybar.com - It's a neat little experiment you can try with one finger. LOL, I hope he doesn't charge me with spousal abuse. :P

    @GothamPolish - lol, I know right. It all relative.

    @Angie - Agree. And that's why your nails are HOT! <3

    @Susy - Awwwwwwww, that is so sweet. Thank you so much for telling me. That just made my day, no ... my week!

    @Fingers - I told him Fingers sent him in the corner for 10 min. Yay, no more smoker fingers!

    @Lendoxia - I totally understand and agree with you. If it ain't broken, don't fix it.

    @ptitemeve - haha, yay!

    @Gottwinkies - LOL. If it's not one it's the other. hahaha omg green haha what where you wearing!?

    @KJ Callaway - There are so many dupes, but there is still that little bird that sits on your should telling you you need the original. Darn it!

    @beauty-obsessed.com - That is awesome news!! :D

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  26. The difference is amazing, although I find that buffing makes my nails more porous and prone to staining...

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  27. Oh really, I haven't noticed that. I blame cheap pigments. Curse them! :P

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  28. I had an horrific incident with Sinful Colors 'Innocent'. Hmm. My nails are neon now and even after lemon juice and bubble white, they still glow in the dark *waaaah*. I'm tempted to use the buffer but I'm loathe to. It worked a treat with you though x

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  29. It may sound strange, but i've had good results keeping my nails white with those cleaningtablets they sell to clean false teeth. I put a tablet in my nailbath and soak for ten minutes. Then morsturize as if your life depended on it.

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